LAHORE – Pakistani authorities are looking to milk more and more taxes from people for revenue generation and now Punjab Excise Department is working to start collecting property tax from vacant plots across the region.
Additional Director General Excise Rizwan Sherwani announced to conduct geo-tagging to identify individuals who do not pay taxes on vacant plots.
With the new exercise, Exise officials will locate all vacant plots within Punjab. Initial reports suggest over 1lac plots in Punjab, mostly in the provincial capital Lahore.
Excise Additional DG mentioned that over 70 percent of these plots are in upscale areas in Lahore. Through geo-tagging, over large number of vacant plots will be included in tax net.
Read More: Pakistan’s new govt to impose more taxes on Non-Filers on Sale and Purchase of plots
For the unversed, taxes on empty plots starts from Rs3,000 to Rs12,000 per annum, based on the area’s value. The inclusion of these new plots is expected to increase annual revenue by one to one and a half billion rupees.
The government is also working with PTA and telecom operators to block SIM cards belonging to over half million non-filers in Pakistan amid tightening noose around tax evaders.
